A Tale of Two Purchases

Not too long after accepting my position as Director of Engineering for PROTRANS BC, it became apparent that a good maintenance vehicle would be required to assist our crews in performing the nightly maintenance on the Canada Line.  We would need a relatively large rail-bound machine that could quickly transport a crew and materials on our modest but time restricted rail network.  Geismar, a company headquartered in France, supplies a variety of maintenance-of-way equipment to the international railway industry and sells a very good crew-crane transporter that they manufacture in their plant in Italy.  After narrowing our search to the Geismar VMT-850, it was apparent that a trip to Italy would be required to evaluate the machine and to finalize purchase arrangements.  I have done a lot of business travel in my career, but I had never travelled to Europe and this was certainly one trip that I was not going to pass up.

Geismar’s Italian plant is located near a small town called Reggio d’Emilia which is about 150 kilometres southeast of Milan.  To get there, we would need to fly to Milan and then rent a car.  

KLM has a daily flight from Vancouver to Amsterdam, from which connections are available all over Europe.  On October 20, 2008, I boarded an aging KLM MD-11 in Vancouver for my first trip overseas.  It was a long but relaxing flight with terrific in-flight service and a friendly flight attendant who was more than happy to take a 

seat beside me to point out the local sights as we descended into Amsterdam Schiphol Airport.  Schiphol is a very busy airport and I enjoyed watching the European airliners arrive and depart as I waited for my connection to Milan Malpensa Airport.  On arrival at Malpensa, I met my two colleagues from SNC Lavalin and we rented a small but comfortable Fiat.  Fortunately, the car had a GPS and one of my colleagues volunteered to take on the driving because Milan has some serious traffic and chaotic and confusing streets.

We spent the first night in Milan and took full advantage of a free evening.  After checking into the hotel, we started with a nice meal in a local Italian restaurant.  It was charming and the Veal Scaloppini was wonderful.

Then it was out to wander the streets of the city.  Milan is not known as one of the prettier cities of Europe, but when you have never been to Europe, things looked pretty good to me.  The first landmark we encountered was Stazione Centrale, the main train station of Milan.

This is a spectacular train station, one of the largest in all of Europe.  I couldn’t help but marvel at this building and the huge train hall which also gave me my first glimpse of European trains including the impressive Eurostars.  Next we walked on through the fashion district of the Quadrilatero d’Oro (the Golden Quad) 
where the exclusive shops of Prada, Dolce & Gabbana, Armani, and Versace are all located.  It is here that Milan demonstrates its status as the fashion capital of Europe.  From these fashionable streets we continued onwards to the Piazza del Duomo 

where I was absolutely awestruck by my first glimpse of the Duomo of Milan.  North America has never provided me an example of architecture quite like this and it is not surprising that this cathedral took hundreds of years to complete.  Amazing!  Across the large piazza stands another landmark, a triumphal arch which serves as the 

entrance to the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele, a huge and elegant glass roofed arcade completed in 1898.  After wondering through the Galleria, it was time to retire for the evening, having walked many miles and accomplishing a fair bit of sightseeing.  That night was my first taste of Europe and I made a decision right then to bring my wife back for our twentieth wedding anniversary the following year.

The next two days it was down to business.  Following breakfast, we checked out of our hotel and headed for a visit to a company called Alga S.P.A.  Alga supplies high tech bridge bearings and expansion joints around the globe and is a supplier to SNC Lavalin.  While there, we were given a tour of the plant and inspected some of the bridge bearings and specialty expansion joints that were used in the elevated runways at Madera Airport in Portugal and the new runway at Haneda Airport in Tokyo.  Impressive technology!

After finishing our business with Alga, we headed south for the trip to Reggio.  Reggio is a smaller town and the hotel and environment was much more laid back than in Milan.  By this time, jet lag was also taking its toll so it was early to bed that evening.

The following day, we headed to the Geismar plant bright and early and started with a tour of their manufacturing facility.  

This too was an impressive facility and it was interesting to see the various railway equipment that was ready to be shipped to all points around the globe.  We then met with Geismar engineers and sales people to discuss specifications and performance requirements for our machine, after which we tested one of the crew crane transporters on their in-plant test track.    The machine was obviously very capable and it met all specifications that we were looking for.  This being the case, we concluded our business with finalization of the purchase and delivery arrangements to Vancouver. 

With business now finished we headed back to Milan on the busy autoroute.  It had been an interesting two days made more enjoyable by our hosts from both Alga and Geismar.  They were not only intent on selling us their products, but they seemed eager to give us a taste of the local flair and culinary delights.  They were obviously proud Italians. 

Once back in Milan, I bid my colleagues farewell as they headed to the airport to fly back to Vancouver.  For me, I had arranged to take an additional day (this one vacation) to further explore the city.  Though sightseeing was on the agenda, there was one more major purchase in order.  Something for my wife!

As I walked the streets of Milan on my final day in Europe, I mulled over what I could possibly buy.  By the end of the day, with nothing in hand, I realized that a trip to a Prada store might be necessary.  I headed back over to the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele where there were several high end fashion boutiques.  These high fashion stores are not meant for your everyday tourist and the entrances are graced by well dressed security guards to discourage riff raff from entering the stores.  

As I made my entrance into the Prada store in the Galleria, I think I qualified as riff raff because I noticed the security guard eying me from top to bottom and giving me a look that said, “get serious man, you don’t belong here”!  It took a while, but when it became apparent that I was intent on buying something, the attitude towards me changed considerably.  There was not much in the store that 

was anywhere near my budget, but I did manage to find a nice Prada wallet that I thought Bonnie-Rae might like.  I took a gulp and purchased the wallet for much more than I would consider reasonable for something of that nature.  But hey, it is an authentic Prada wallet made from the finest Italian leather and in the latest styling, I went through the experience of buying it, and Bonnie-Rae likes it. 

The trip home from Italy was uneventful, however I do believe I caught a glimpse of the Matterhorn from 35,000 feet on the flight from Milan to Copenhagen.  The flight from Copenhagen to Vancouver was on another MD-11, an aircraft type that I understand KLM will soon retire.  The MD-11 evolved from the DC-10, Douglas Aircraft Company’s last design before merging with McDonnell and later with Boeing.  It was nice to have had an opportunity to fly on the MD-11 before they too pass into history along with the rest of the once mighty Douglas fleet. 

As for the two purchases, our maintenance crews successfully utilize the Geismar VMT-850 every night on the Canada Line and it has become an essential piece of equipment in our daily operation.  My wife also uses her Prada wallet every day, and each time she pulls it out , it reminds me of my trip to Europe.